Immortality and cultivation begin with drawing talismans.

Chapter 70 We can't wait! Time to prepare for Foundation Establishment!

Tianxuan City.

Under the cover of night, Lin Chang'an used his supreme concealment technique to disguise himself as a cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining, and returned to the city without any major incidents.

With his concealment technique, unless a Foundation Establishment cultivator deliberately uses their Heavenly Eye Technique to observe him, they would not be able to detect him at all. Among cultivators of the same level, apart from those with special pupil techniques, no one can see through his concealment.

Only after returning to his cave did Lin Chang'an finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Finally back."

The journey back was even more tiring than the two months spent lurking in the misty mountains.

After all, he not only possessed a demon core, but also a high-quality Foundation Establishment Pill. If word got out, countless cultivators would be eyeing him.

"The only missing ingredient for the foundation building materials is the Heavenly Spirit Fruit. Unlike the Demon Core, this kind of spiritual fruit is not priceless and can be found in the city."

Lin Chang'an checked the materials, carefully placed the demon core and foundation-building pill together, and then carefully checked and affixed fireball talismans.

To ensure that in a crisis, one can destroy the Foundation Establishment Pill and the Demon Core immediately.

"I never expected that my spiritual eye, which I haven't paid much attention to all these years, would actually make such a great contribution."

Lin Chang'an sighed, realizing that he had been lucky to kill the calamity cultivator Zhou Qing and obtain a bottle of spiritual liquid, which gave him the Spirit Eye.

I thought this ordinary spiritual eye was similar to the Heavenly Eye Technique, and I haven't bought any spiritual liquid over the years, almost missing out on an opportunity.

"If one's spiritual eye cultivation were even slightly weaker, or one's ability to see through stone were even a fraction less, this opportunity would probably have slipped through one's fingers."

Thinking of this, Lin Chang'an felt even more fortunate. He didn't lack spirit stones, and he would need to use spirit liquid in the future, and he would continue to cultivate this spirit eye.

"Everything is ready now, we just need the right opportunity!"

The materials needed for the Foundation Establishment Pill can all be purchased within Tianxuan City, so he doesn't need to venture out into the world.

"Aim for the Great Perfection of Qi Refining within two years, and then Foundation Establishment!"

Inside the secret room, Lin Chang'an's face showed determination.

【Lifespan: 52/124】

[Realm Level: Qi Refining Level 9 (19/100)]

"Fifty-two years old, Qi Refining Level Nine!"

……

Time flies, and Lin Chang'an resumed his arduous cultivation routine of drawing talismans to exchange for spirit stones. He also obtained a Heavenly Spirit Fruit at an auction six months later.

At the same time, the explosive growth of independent cultivators joining Tianxuan City gradually stabilized, and everything was getting back on track.

Meanwhile, within the Yue Kingdom, with the appearance of the Mysterious Turtle Master Lu of Tianxuan City, the Li Huo Palace and the Xuan Yin Pavilion, with Tianxuan City as their central hub, formed a temporary alliance, and the stalemate with the Divine Sword Sect was once again reached.

But behind the scenes, the three major sects have never stopped their power struggles and battles.

Despite the continued rampant activities of demonic and treacherous cultivators, many of whom are actually imposters from the three major sects, none of this has diminished the prosperity of Tianxuan City.

After all, with the cultivation of True Person Lu of the Xuan Turtle in the middle stage of the Golden Core realm, plus a Xuan Water Turtle in the late stage of the third rank, he alone could be considered a force that could influence the Yue Kingdom.

The legendary figure of a rogue cultivator proved his appeal and deterrent power.

……

Two years later.

Lin Chang'an, inside the cave, exuded a powerful aura, clearly indicating that he had reached the late stage of Qi Refining. However, at this moment, he looked at his attributes with a solemn expression.

[Realm Level: Qi Refining Level 9 (97/100)]

"When I reached 95 points, I already felt that my cultivation had reached its peak. Is this the limitation of a cultivator's spiritual root?"

Lin Chang'an frowned. Based on the Foundation Establishment experience jade slip that Yun Yao had given him, he concluded that this situation was almost entirely due to the cultivator's own actions.

If he hadn't been able to clearly see his own attributes, he probably would have already reached perfection and started preparing for Foundation Establishment. The consequence of doing so would be that he would most likely fail to establish a Foundation Establishment.

This is also the biggest reason why it is difficult for independent cultivators to achieve Foundation Establishment. Because most independent cultivators have ordinary spiritual roots, the limitations of their spiritual roots lead them to mistakenly believe that their cultivation has reached perfection.

For example, a mid-grade spiritual root reaches perfection at 96, a high-grade spiritual root at 97, an earth-grade spiritual root at 98, and a heaven-grade spiritual root has no bottleneck and breaks through from 99 to 100.

"However, improving these last five points of experience is extremely difficult. If my Changchun Gong had not already reached the supreme level, I probably wouldn't have made it this far."

When his experience reached 95, he realized the difficulty of his spiritual root. According to the jade slip, breaking through from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment was a qualitative change.

The improvement of experience points after 95 is a preparation for this qualitative change at every step.

And the Foundation Building Pill is this catalyst.

It is not impossible to establish a foundation without Foundation Establishment Pills.

He was able to hone these two points thanks to his insights from the Changchun Gong, which refined his magical power to a higher level.

"Although with my unparalleled Everlasting Spring Technique, I could advance further if I continued to cultivate diligently, I cannot afford to wait due to my age and the ever-changing situation outside."

He's already 54. If he waits any longer, the ebb and flow of lifespan might not be a good thing, since the chances of Foundation Establishment are higher when you're younger.

Lin Chang'an pondered to himself. If he only had one Foundation Establishment Pill, he would naturally want to refine it further. But right now, he wanted to step into the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible so that he could feel at ease.

As long as the Foundation Establishment Pill and its ingredients remained in his storage bag, he would never feel at ease.

Only when he converts his gains into real power and secures them can he feel at ease.

The lessons learned from Wang Lin and He Yan are still fresh in our minds.

One was a prodigy of the Wang family, and the other was extremely lucky. These are true portrayals of geniuses in the cultivation world, but in the end, they benefited others.

"Get ready to establish your foundation! Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and get three Foundation Establishment Pills in one batch. Even an idiot like me should be able to establish my foundation by now."

Under Lin Chang'an's determined gaze, he decided to begin preparing for alchemy.

His confidence stemmed from his own abilities, but even more so from the fact that his cultivation had been honed to 97%, significantly increasing his success rate.

……

Stepping out of the secluded pavilion, the clear sound of a waterfall echoed through the air. In the courtyard, a green-horned ox lay in the pond, swimming leisurely and occasionally taking a bite of a lotus leaf to chew.

Seeing this, Lin Chang'an laughed and scolded:
"You fool, this is a spirit lotus that I specially planted with spirit stones, and you've ruined it like this."

However, after seeing Lin Chang'an emerge from seclusion, the Green Horned Ox excitedly ran out of the pool, its short tail splashing water everywhere.

Compared to before, the Green Horned Ox has grown much larger, after all, it is already seven years old. According to the age of the Green Horned Ox demon beast, it will reach adulthood in three more years.

Now that they were both late-stage first-tier demonic beasts, Lin Chang'an stroked the bull's head with an expression of enjoyment, but the bull shook its head and said:
"No wonder ordinary cultivators can't afford to raise spirit beasts. They've eaten so many of my spirit stones in just these seven years."

Different species of spirit beasts have different growth periods. For example, the Zhou family's Xuan Shui Turtle takes hundreds of years to reach adulthood. So it may not seem like it consumes much energy on a daily basis, but it adds up to a considerable amount over time.

Although the growth period of this Green Horned Ox is short, the resources it consumes are visible to the naked eye.

The spirit herbs that Zhou Qing gave him back then not only ended up in this cow's stomach, but he also spent a lot of spirit stones on them over the years.

"This is... a letter left by Shen Lie?"

The green-horned ox let out a moo and then snatched a letter from inside the pavilion and handed it over.

Upon opening the letter, Lin Chang'an found it was left by Shen Lie two months prior. As he read the contents of the letter, a smile gradually appeared on his face.

"I never imagined that the same treatment Yun Yao received would end up on me."

In the letter, Shen Lie stated that he knew Shen Lie was preparing to establish his foundation and that they were willing to offer their modest assistance. At the same time, he jokingly reminded Shen Lie at the end not to forget to protect them after he established his foundation.

As the sun set, the shadows of a man and an ox stretched long, accompanied by bursts of lighthearted laughter.

I urge all fellow Daoists to read this tomorrow, Monday. This is the last time I'll recommend it for a PK (player kill) session.

On Monday, the PK against Sanjiang is unlikely to succeed. On Tuesday, the PK against Qiangtui might offer some hope. I urge all fellow Daoists to continue reading for two consecutive days to show your support.

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(End of this chapter)